Monday, 18 January 2016

Loch Lochy Creature and Nessie the same monster?

Loch Lochy (Scottish Gaelic, Loch Lochaidh) is a large freshwater lake located southwest of Loch Ness. It is ten miles long and one mile wide and is said to be the home
of Lizzie, a creature described as similar to the Loch Ness Monster,
Nessie.. Loch Lochy is only separated from Loch Ness by Loch Oich. Loch Oich is
said to contain several holes reported to go as deep as 2000 feet. This
of course has given rise to the possibility that animals from Loch Ness
are also being seen in the other two lochs.

Lizzie was first sighted in 1929 by two game wardens near Spean Bridge..

The
two game wardens believed at first that they where looking at nothing
more than debris from a large fallen tree. When one of the two men took a
closer look through his telescope they soon realized that they where
looking at much more than a fallen tree but a large unidentified beast,
they continued to watch the creature swim for about a mile before it
submerged back into the depths of the loch.

1930: A man living
on the loch side saw a strange creature in the water one day - he told
his wife never to wash her clothes there again!Other reports came and in 1933 the monks of Fort Augustus Abbey began to chronicle known sightings.
In
1960, while staying in a caravan near Glen Fintaig, Eric Robinson, his
family, and nine other witnesses, spotted what looked to be a standing
wave in the centre of the loch.It appeared to be caused by a living
creature Viewing the animal through binoculars he
estimated that the animal was between 30 and 40-feet in length, with a
dark spine and a paler underbelly. Robinson and the other witnesses
claimed the creature began to roll in the water exposing a huge flipper
before disappearing into the loch. This sighting was witnessed by nine
other people.
1975: Mrs. Margaret Sargent of Fort William
was passing the loch with her husband and family near the Corriegour
Hotel when they saw an unusual wake on the flat calm loch. A long black
shape could be seen moving through the water. As she took a photo, the
object disappeared below the water and the subsequent picture showed
only the wake.(see link below to Nik Sargent’s story)
In
1996 while fishing for pike in the loch, angler Alastair Stevenson
encountered a creature approximately 18-feet in length and roughly the
shape of an overturned rowboat. The creature reportedly took Stevenson’s
bait and began to pull the vessel. Stevenson was quoted as saying, "I
knew immediately it wasn't a pike with that ferocity. I had to stop the
line but when I did the power started dragging the boat behind it. All
the time I'm thinking it was like a scene from Jaws. Fortunately my line
and rod snapped and that was the end of that. I have no idea what it
was, but it was a lot bigger than a pike
An expedition the same year led by crypto zoologist Cameron Turner, had a contact with a large object near Spean Bridge,
where the very first reported sighting took place. The contact was
estimated as being between 18 and 20-feet in length, and was moving at a
depth of 160-feet below the surface. Approximately two minutes later,
after the boat sharply turned starboard in order to pursue the contact, a
second contact was made, this time at a depth of 200 feet. As the boat
approached the centre of the Loch, above an abysmal trench which is reportedly over 300-feet deep, the objects disappeared. Cameron returned to the Loch again in September 1997, and hired
a boat from the family of Alastair Stevenson, the same man who had the
1996 encounter with the creature. The team had another contact about 270
feet down in the loch. During the 3 minutes the team managed to follow
the contact they where able to get clear pictures of the sonar screen .
nothing. They also had readings showing sonar hits of over 2000 feet deep, which appeared to be holes in the bottom of the Loch,.
Loch Oich is located between Loch Ness and Loch Lochy in the Great Glen and the three locks are connected and form part of the Caledonian Canal.
A strange beast has also been reported in Loch Oich. Described as a dog
headed serpent, with a horse like mane, two humps, black skin and a
snake like neck, very like the descriptions of the creature reported in
Loch Ness.
Sightings of the Loch Oich Monster date back to the 19th century. The Loch Oich Monster is also reported
to have caused at least a death. The story goes that some time in the
20th century the Loch Oich Monster reportedly drowned a young boy, who
allegedly climbed on the creatures back in hopes of catching a ride,
when the beast submerged the boy was dragged below the surface and
drowned.
In 1961 hoaxers reportedly planted an
artificial monster in the dark waters of Loch Oich in order to take some
photographs and cash in on the monsters popularity. This has not helped
serious investigation in the area.
Eye witness accounts:

Lizzie,
a three humped first cousin of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, surfaced
again last week on Loch Lochy.And several people, locals and vistors,
confirmed on Thursday the sighting of the water beast.Staff and guests
at the Corriegour Lodge Hotel watched in amazement as a dark shaped
twelve foot long "something" caused a commotion on the loch which is
overlooked by the hotel.Guests and waitresses at Corriegour Lodge rushed
to the picture window of the dining room to get a better view of the
creature which had come to the surface."At first we thought what we were
seeing was an upturned boat", said husband and wife Derick and Lindsay
Burney, from Hornchurch, who were having dinner at the hotel."Then
suddenly it started moving backwards, and then round in circles, and we
noted that it had three humps. It was causing quite a stir. It was very
large, about twelve feet in length, and it wasn't a seal or any other
mammal we've ever seen before. And we've been coming to Loch Lochy on
boating holidays for the past seven years"
Lorna Bunney, joint proprietor with her husband Rod, of Corriegour
Lodge revealed that she had originally seen a marine animal in the loch
three weeks previously."I thought at first that it was just the wake
from a cabin cruiser but it was too fast, and the ripples too close
together for that. I ran to look out of the kitchen door and I realised
it was some kind of creature. I've never seen anything like it before."
Source:

It
is intriguing that the first sighting of Lizzie was before the 1933
media frenzy over Loch Ness. There are reports of a hole in the bottom
of Loch Ness(Edward’s Deep) . Perhaps there are tunnels between the
Lochs, but it seems unlikely that no one has found them before. It still
is an interesting idea that the creatures(or fish or eels or whatever
they are) could travel between the lochs, and hence their ability to
hide from sonar and researchers. Plus there have been land sightings of Nessie but it would seem unlikely it could travel via land between lochs and not be spotted. Seems like new developments may mean there are tunnels to discover : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3406495/Is-Nessie-s-hiding-years-Fisherman-discovers-900-foot-deep-trench-big-legendary-monster-family.html

The Weird Helmet

The Weird Shield

Dark Esk

Dark Wear

Dark Ness

Dark Ness by Tabitca Cope

New book on kindle- myths, murder, monsters and magic in modern day Loch Ness

New Cryptofiction book out

mysterious creatures roam the countryside,what is the secret of the horror tunnel and what are the modern day witches up to with the fifth reich? our Friends from the book Dark Ness once again meet cryptids and danger . s

About Me

Mother, author, cat lover, amateur cryptozoologist, cook and bottle washer, some times lover, single parent,middle aged,a mad woman without an attic, red wine and chocolate lover.Now housebound due to ill health so an armchair researcher.Too wheezy to sit in a hide and watch for cryptids anymore lol.Have now taken up crafting when I feel able.I now have a Fiction book out on amazon Kindle Dark Ness by Tabitca Cope set in, you guessed it, Loch Ness with monsters , murder , myth and magic.